New hotels in South Lake Union, Seattle

South Lake Union is where Amazon chose to put its headquarters, and the hotels here follow from that decision. Four of them have opened since 2020: citizenM in 2020, Astra in 2022, AC Hotel in 2024 and 1 Hotel in 2025. A fifth, a Tempo by Hilton, has been announced for the neighboring Denny Triangle and not built.

A lake end that used to make things

The neighborhood sits at the southern tip of Lake Union, with Denny Way as its southern edge, Interstate 5 to the east and Aurora Avenue to the west. The part east of Fairview Avenue North is still called Cascade. For most of the twentieth century this was working land: sawmills on the shore, then a Ford Model T assembly plant that opened in 1914, then laundries, printers and warehouses. The Lake Washington Ship Canal opened in 1917 and tied the lake to the sound.

David Denny staked his claim here in 1853 and ran the Western Mill on the south shore from 1884. A century later the same shore was a mix of low sheds and surface parking. In 1995 and 1996 Seattle voters rejected the Seattle Commons, a large park proposal that Paul Allen had backed with a $20 million donation. Allen's firm kept buying land, and Amazon announced in December 2007 that it would consolidate its Seattle offices here. Staff began moving in during 2010.

Just south of the neighborhood, the Denny Regrade had already reshaped the ground. Over 33 years, crews removed about 11 million cubic yards of Denny Hill, across roughly 27 city blocks, to make level land for a business district. The Denny Triangle, where the Spheres stand, is that flattened ground.

What you see now is the result: office blocks in glass and brick, apartment towers, lab buildings for the biotech and medical research institutions that cluster nearby, and a lakefront park where a lumber mill peninsula used to be.

The hotels are a recent layer on top. None is older than 2020, and all four were built or rebuilt for the weekday traveler who has a meeting in one of those office blocks. That shapes the neighborhood after dark: busy at lunch, quiet by ten on a Tuesday.

What to do in South Lake Union

Lake Union Park is the obvious first stop. It opened in April 2008 with 1.6 acres and was finished in 2010 at 12 acres, on the old Brace lumber mill peninsula. The Museum of History & Industry (MOHAI) occupies the former Naval Reserve Armory on Terry Avenue North; the Navy decommissioned the building in 1998 and the museum opened there in December 2012. Its collection includes the 1919 Boeing B-1, Boeing's first commercial plane, and the 12-foot neon "R" from the Rainier Brewing Company.

In the same park, the Center for Wooden Boats keeps a fleet of rowboats and small sailboats. It also runs a free public sail on one Sunday a month, from 1 to 5 p.m., first come first served, with sign-up on the day. In 2026 those Sundays ran from April to late September, so check the schedule before planning around one. Moored in the park you will also find the steamer Virginia V and the tug Arthur Foss.

Denny Park, a few minutes' walk from the citizenM, is described as Seattle's oldest park. It is a small city block of lawn and trees, and the citizenM is its immediate neighbor.

The Amazon Spheres stand on the Denny Triangle side, at 2111 7th Avenue along Lenora Street between 6th and 7th Avenues. Three glass domes hold roughly 40,000 plants and work as an office space for employees. They opened in January 2018. The free Understory visitor exhibit at their base covers the design and construction, but it is separate from the plant gardens, which the public can enter only on limited dates with a reservation. Check the current arrangements before planning a visit around them.

For a long weekend, the neighborhood is a base for the rest of the city rather than a destination to itself. The streetcar and the monorail do most of the work.

Getting around

The South Lake Union Streetcar runs 1.3 miles from the Westlake Hub, also called McGraw Square, to Fairview Avenue North and Campus Drive. The trip takes about 13 minutes. Southbound it stops on Westlake Avenue at Mercer Street and Thomas Street, northbound on Terry Avenue at Terry & Thomas and Terry & Mercer, and it also serves Lake Union Park. Two more stops, Westlake & 7th and Westlake & 9th-Denny, sit in the Denny Triangle. For a traveler going to MOHAI or the lake, it is the simplest option.

At the southern end, the Westlake Hub is one block from Westlake Center, where the Seattle Center Monorail leaves from. The monorail covers roughly a mile to the Space Needle grounds in about two minutes, with trains every ten minutes in normal service and every five at peak. Fares were $4.00 for adults from January 2025, and ORCA cards work. The pairing of streetcar and monorail is how most visitors reach Seattle Center without a car.

On foot, Pike Place Market is about twenty minutes from the 1 Hotel by the hotel's own estimate, and longer from the northern end of the neighborhood. Many visitors ride the streetcar to the Westlake Hub and walk down from there. Downtown Seattle starts at the Hub, and Belltown is a short ride west for dinner. Capitol Hill is on the other side of Interstate 5, which cuts it off from the lake, so allow for a bus or a rideshare.

Where to stay in South Lake Union

Astra Hotel Seattle opened in July 2022 at 300 Terry Avenue North, a 16-story, 265-room tower in the Tribute Portfolio line of Marriott and operated by Stanford Hotels Corporation. It is a ground-up building aimed at the tech workforce nearby, with large rooms and the Altitude rooftop bar as its public face. Rates on our listing start around $140.

The 1 Hotel Seattle is a different case. SH Hotels & Resorts, the company founded by Barry Sternlicht, announced in June 2024 that it would take over the Pan Pacific Seattle at 2125 Terry Avenue and convert it to the 1 Hotels brand, which launched in 2015. The hotel stayed open to guests during the work and relaunched in April 2025 with 153 rooms, 45 of them suites. The company says it is pursuing LEED Silver certification. The Spanish restaurant La Loba, run by Barcelona-born chef Oscar Amador Edo, a James Beard nominee who previously cooked in Las Vegas, is attached to the hotel. Rates start around $280, the highest of the four. The hotel says many rooms look toward the Space Needle, about fifteen minutes away on foot.

Opened in summer 2020, citizenM Seattle South Lake Union stands at 201 Westlake Avenue North, at John Street, facing Denny Park. It is reported as North America's first fully modular hotel: 264 rooms built in Europe, shipped over and stacked on site in 89 days. Concrete Architectural Associates did the concept and interiors, with Gensler as architect of record. The building is LEED Gold certified. It is a separate property from citizenM's older hotel in Pioneer Square. Rates start around $140, the same as Astra.

AC Hotel Seattle Downtown, at 117 Yale Avenue North, opened in October 2024 and sits where South Lake Union meets the Denny Triangle. It has 11 stories and 200 rooms, was developed by Nexera Capital, and carries Marriott's AC brand, with its European styling. Of the open hotels it is the youngest and, from about $110, the cheapest.

Tempo by Hilton Seattle Downtown is still on paper. Hilton named the Denny Triangle for a 23-story, 300-room tower in 2021, part of a run of signings for its then-new lifestyle brand. The original target was 2024. No developer, site plan or street address has surfaced, so the page lists it as announced with an opening date to be confirmed.

Which hotel for your trip

For a stay tied to an office visit, Astra and the AC Hotel are the two built for that purpose, both in the middle of the corporate district. Astra is on Terry Avenue, which carries the northbound streetcar; the AC Hotel is on Yale Avenue North, on the Denny Triangle side.

If you want rooms that read as a hotel rather than an apartment block, the 1 Hotel is the choice, with a restaurant on site and a lobby with a living wall and a stair of reclaimed timber, as the company announced it. It also has the most space, since 45 of its 153 rooms are suites.

The citizenM suits a short, cheap stay with Denny Park outside and the streetcar on Westlake. The rooms are compact and the building's construction story is a good conversation starter for anyone with an interest in how towers are built.

Families and leisure travelers should know the limits. There is little nightlife here once the offices empty, and the closest big attractions are a streetcar and monorail ride away. If you want evenings out, Belltown or Capitol Hill suit better, and the guide to Seattle covers the other neighborhoods.

Frequently asked questions

What is the newest hotel to open in South Lake Union?

The 1 Hotel Seattle, which reopened in April 2025 after the former Pan Pacific was converted. The AC Hotel Seattle Downtown, on the Denny Triangle border, opened in October 2024. Both are on our 1 Hotel Seattle and AC Hotel pages.

Are there new hotels near Amazon's Seattle headquarters?

Yes, four. Astra Hotel Seattle, the AC Hotel Seattle Downtown, the 1 Hotel Seattle and citizenM Seattle South Lake Union were all built or converted since 2020, within walking distance of the campus.

Is the Tempo by Hilton in South Lake Union actually being built?

Not yet. Tempo by Hilton Seattle Downtown was announced in 2021 for the Denny Triangle, with a 2024 target that has lapsed. We have found no developer, site plan or groundbreaking.

Which hotel here has the modular-construction story?

citizenM Seattle South Lake Union. Its 264 rooms were built in Europe and stacked on site in 89 days, and the building is reported as North America's first fully modular hotel.

Can I walk from South Lake Union to Pike Place Market?

Yes, in about twenty minutes from the 1 Hotel Seattle, longer from the north end of the neighborhood. The streetcar to the Westlake Hub shortens the trip, and from there the market is a downhill walk toward the water.